Wednesday, May 08, 2013

'THERE WILL BE ANOTHER DAY.....'By Peadar O'Donnell ; first published in January 1963.
The crowd was in a mood to cheer anybody who made any friendly gesture and they cheered this gift and I could only curse silently and fervently , but I need not have worried : Black James thanked the man who handed him the money and asked him to thank every person who put a red penny into this fine gift and to say to them that he, himself, thanked them from his heart. It was clear that he was deeply moved.
Up went the shaggy old head - "Thank them and give them their money back. I went to jail for a principle. I could have paid the annuity and the arrears." I just looked on, in a flood of tears, feeling a fool and, in my own way, rejoicing I was there to see what I saw. But for all that , we entered the winter of 1928 in a darkening mood and, as if to smother us in gloom at the close of the year, Big Nial Houston died. He was in the full blaze and splendour of his young life at the time, a great warrior , a lion of a man in a struggle , and a gentle and good neighbour.
And it did not help at all that His Lordship, Dr MacNeeley , Bishop of Raphoe, took it into his head to add his voice to the noise aimed at me, even though he made a fair enough attack , for he did not take the crozier to me - just a bare, hard-knuckle rap : "Pay your rents and don't heed Peadar O'Donnell." Fair enough , I could look after myself , but it was a real worry to me that the government clique in the village might now gang up on Father Scanlan, the parish priest , and force him to speak out against me, now that they had leverage. It would distress me greatly to have any sharpness arise between Father Scanlan and me, for I had great affection for the old man : he put up with a lot from me when I was a schoolteacher in his parish.(MORE LATER).

THE BETRAYAL OF 1916 - - REVISIONISM EXPOSED.....From 'IRIS' magazine, Easter 1991.By Martin Spain.
The revisionists, with their 'pragmatic' view of history, emphasising the successes of constitutional nationalists and condemning the very military actions * which led to the creation of the 26-County State, encouraged feelings of guilt , but not guilt that Irish people had stood back while their fellow nationalists in the Six Counties suffered for 50 years, but guilt at the actions of those who had fought back and continued to struggle for freedom for all.
Republicans provided a suitable scapegoat : the revisionist view was one in which the (P)IRA and (P)Sinn Féin are portrayed as the main obstruction to peace in Ireland , an interpretation which the 26-County establishment found easily acceptable.
Like Pontius Pilate , they could wash their hands of the entire situation by blaming the only people who had consistently opposed partition and the British presence. The success of the revisionists creates a vacuum, the 26-County State leaving itself in a position where it cannot confidently celebrate its own roots. Its official military parade to be held on Easter Sunday is a hastily arranged admission of the fact that the Irish people have not forgotten 1916. There is no doubt that Charlie Haughey and his ilk did not wish to celebrate the Rising this year.(* Like these revisionists , for example!)(MORE LATER).NA FIANNA ÉIREANN : WORKING QUIETLY AWAY IN THE BACKGROUND.Na Fianna Éireann members , standing beside their Cumann na mBan colleagues, pictured recently in Bodenstown at the Annual Wolfe Tone Commemoration.In the rush to 'get things done' in good time and in a manner befitting the Republican Movement , it happens that not everyone involved in keeping things running smoothly gets thanked , appreciated and/or acknowledged. Practically every republican function , be it a raffle , protest , picket , rally , commemoration or meeting has a 'behind-the-scenes' team without which it wouldn't work or, at the very least, wouldn't run as smoothly as it does. The young lads in Na Fianna Éireann have always 'been there' for the Movement and, indeed, they are an invaluable resource for those of us that organise/assist in the running of the monthly 650-ticket raffle , as they have an in-built 'supply line' along which the tickets , prize money and result sheets can be guaranteed to get from 'A' to 'B' in record time and as safely as had we done the job ourselves!Two young Dublin NFÉ members.Likewise with, for instance, the many hundreds of 'leaflet packs' which are distributed at republican events - NFÉ assist in compiling the 'packs' and transporting same to the venue , as well as other good work which ensures the continuity of the struggle. They have recently launched a new website and have asked us to give them a wee mention on this blog and, considering they are presently in the process of rounding-up just over 200 tickets for us for the raffle this coming Sunday , we thought it best to comply.... ;-) !

ALL QUIET IN GAA CIRCLES BUT RSF WILL NOT BE 'UNITED' WITH THE 'POOL' !Our pic shows the RSF Raffle Crew (!)making their way to the 'Raffle Hotel' for the monthly raffle , which will be held this comimg Sunday , 12th May 2013....GAA matches are few and far between (if any?) this coming Sunday(12th May 2013) but - as our 'Sports Dept' have told us - it's going to be a big day out for soccer fans : Stokeham are playing against 'the Tots', West Everton will be hamming it up as Fulpool take on Liverham , Norbrom challenge Westwich , Newcastle Q hope to have a PR victory which might benefit Southland (or is it Sunderhampton ?) , the winner of which will do battle with Swan United but only if Swanman don't win , apparently. Or something along those lines.....?But what I do know is that the Republican Movement will be holding one of their usual monthly 650-ticket raffles on that Sunday in the usual sports hotel and, as usual (!) , all tickets have been sold , including the forty that were left with the hotel function manager which, owing to the large number of soccer supporters that will be present, will make for a loud and interesting event! If all my limbs are intact after the raffle (!) , I will post a few words and the winners names etc here as soon as I can. "THERE ARE DIFFERENT KINDS OF TRUTHS...."Fine Gael leaflet , distributed this month, May 2013.Apart from the glaringly obvious untruth (ie the reference to "the country" that is being 'fixed' , as the Leinster House institution does not claim jurisdiction over "the country" , only over 26 counties of it) , the notion that Fine Gael (or any other Leinster House political party) would be capable of politically 'fixing' anything other than their own financial futures is a joke : you can go die in a public toilet whilst trying to eat food you pulled from a skip, for all they care.Anyway - back to that leaflet , copies of which were delivered door-to-door in the Dublin Mid-West area in recent days , and all of which contain the same misinformation (to put it mildly) stating, amongst other gems ..."...the plan is working , and we're starting to see progress on jobs,on stabilising the public finances , on political and public sector reform, and on getting Ireland (sic) out of the bailout..".
Irving 'two-cheers-for-capitalism' Kristol hit the nail on the head when he described leaflets of that nature authored by political spiffs of that(ie Leinster House) type , when he wrote - " There are different kinds of truths for different kinds of people. There are truths appropriate for children; truths that are appropriate for students; truths that are appropriate for educated adults; and truths that are appropriate for highly educated adults, and the notion that there should be one set of truths available to everyone is a modern democratic fallacy. It doesn't work."As far as I'm concerned , if what you say matches the political facts and reality of the situation that you're addressing , then you're 'telling the truth' : right-wingers such as Kristol and his political colleagues-in-arms like those in Fine Gael have a constant requirement to 'explain/excuse' the fact that they need to 'spin' the reason why they can't tell you 'the truth'. They are maggots in the body politic and should be considered as such and dealt with accordingly.WEST-BRITS COSY-UP TO BRITS PROPER.A sign of weak character : attempting to be like those with weak characters.This is par for the course as far as the Free State mentality goes and was perhaps best highlighted when that political clown John Bruton welcomed a first-class Brit to these shores. And now - surprise, surprise ! - the party of James Connolly has joined with its political cousins in Fine Gael and made equal fools out of themselves , by inviting a 'titled British royal' to tramp over not only the grave of their so-called 'founding Father' but all he stood for and fought against.I was going to say that it's not surprising that Fine Gael would do the 'prince Charles' thing (as that is genuinely where their political heart lies) and then concentrate on the 'real story' ie the fact that the State Labour Party should do the same but, on a quick second thought, that's not really a or the 'real story' in relation to this issue , nor is the fact that the mainstream media ignored the hypocrisy involved. No , the 'real story' is that it didn't happen sooner and doesn't happen more often.IT'S ALL ABOUT GER. OR AT LEAST HE THINKS IT SHOULD BE.Ger on the phone outside an hotel. No, actually , that's his house.Oh the begrudgers are having a field day - they whisper through their net curtains about how they knew all along that he was all fur coat and no knickers but, at the same time, they envied him as a local boy made good , someone who could afford living expenses of €16,000 a month.Some of Ger's colleagues may not be as 'able' as he is but , had they been left to their own devices, they, too, could have made it to similar 'heights'. But they might yet get their shot at 'fame....'GOOD 'COP' , BAD 'COP'.....and a (politically) criminal present and future.Two recent incidents of the Westminster-funded 'police force' (RUC/PSNI) in this country not only trying to protect their own but attempting to use the occasion to stitch-up those they perceive to be less supportive of them - unfortunately for the paramilitary 'cops' involved , this time they didn't get completely away with it : "The man immediately drove to Omagh police station to make a complaint. But after waiting for some time, a number of officers from the scene appeared and instead charged him. I didn’t know what to say when he said "I’m cautioning you", recalled Mr Callaghan. "I was gobsmacked, I said you were there, you seen it..."(from here.)"In March, the 'Ulster Herald' revealed how all charges were dismissed by a local judge after the defence team utilised CCTV footage to largely undermine the claims of a number of police officers made during a Magistrates’ Court hearing on February 26. Both men have now initiated civil proceedings against the PSNI...."(from here.)The 'police service' in this country , North or South, has always been politically motivated and , indeed, it could hardly be anything but politically motivated, such is the atmosphere created by British interference in the affairs of this country. The only way to end such motivation is to end the interference.'LIGHT RELIEF' IN MORE WAYS THAN ONE !But is the hat 'water'proof...?Another 'Cop Story' - turn your speakers on and have a listen !Thanks for reading,
Sharon.

Monday, May 06, 2013

HUNGER-STRIKERS COMMEMORATION , DUBLIN 4TH MAY 2013 : BRIEF REPORT AND A FEW PICS.Cait Trainor delivering the main oration at the Hunger-Strikers Commemoration in Dublin , on Saturday 4th May 2013.From approximately 1.30pm to 3.30pm on Saturday 4th May 2013 , a crowd of about 100 people observed proceedings on the traffic isle facing the GPO in Dublin city centre as Republican Sinn Féin commemorated the 22 Irish republican hunger-strikers who had given their lives for the republican Cause between 1917 and 1981.The event was Chaired by Diarmuid Mac Dubhglais , the main oration was delivered by Cait Trainor and Josephine Hayden and John Horan were also called to the speakers lectern by the Chairperson to say a few words. During the course of the speeches, repeated reference was made to the fact that, between April and November in 1923 , 340 female republican prisoners in Kilmainham Jail and the North Dublin Union prison went on a hunger-strike protest, in stages, in support of at least 8,000 of their comrades who were taking part in hunger strikes.All 350 leaflet 'packs' (a total of 1,350 'items') were distributed on the day in O'Connell Street (between the Bridge and the Ambassador) and dozens of copies of the April 2013 issue of 'SAOIRSE' were sold ; the May 2013 edition goes to print on Wednesday 8th of this month, and a full report of this commemoration will be published in same. We publish with this brief report some pics from the day , and our thanks to 'TOPCAT'(!) for his invaluable assistance with the build-up , the camerawork and the strip-out afterwards - much appreciated , grma !

Diarmuid Mac Dubhglais , Chairing the event.

Josephine Hayden 4th May 2013 , Dublin.John Horan addressing the crowd at the commemoration on Saturday 4th May 2013.

Seán the Piper , who played various republican laments during proceedings.Photographic representations of some of the 22 men who died between 1917 and 1981..........were on display at the O'Connell Street commemoration on Saturday 4th May 2013.The RSF Colour Party at the commemoration.One of the banners on display at the commemoration.'Political Status' banner in O'Connell Street, Dublin, Saturday 4th May 2013.Padraig Ennis , RSF Dublin , doing a soundcheck on Saturday 4th May 2013.Republican Sinn Féin are to be congratulated for the respectful and well-organised manner in which they paid tribute to not only the 22 men who gave their lives on hunger-strike but also for referencing the sometimes forgotten fact that, in 1923 , 340 republican women had gone on hunger-strike in support of the republican Cause , an action which is mostly overlooked. Well done to all involved in the 4th May event : a job well done!Thanks for reading,
Sharon.